Curling: Heartbreak in Cortina as Canada Deny Team GB Men’s Gold — Mouat’s Rink Settle for Silver Again

Canada beat Team GB 9-6 in the men's curling final in Cortina, leaving Bruce Mouat's rink with a second successive Olympic silver and prolonging a 102-year wait for a men's Olympic gold. The result is the latest and most painful twist in a week that mattered for Britain’s medal bid and for the athletes who came to Italy as world champions and favourites.

Curling final — how the score unfolded

Canada, having finished the round-robin ahead of Team GB and therefore holding the hammer for the first end, were limited to one in that opening end. Great Britain responded by claiming two in the second to move ahead, only for Canada to overhaul them in the third and lead 3-2. Britain levelled after four ends, but the Canadians still led 4-3 at halfway after Brad Jacobs failed to blank the fifth end and thus retain the hammer.

Bruce Mouat then executed a double takeout in the sixth to pick up two and put GB 5-4 ahead. Canada levelled at 5-5 after the seventh, but Britain lost momentum in the eighth, taking only a single point. With Canada holding the hammer in the ninth and a four available, the Canadians took three to go 8-6 into the final end. Britain had the hammer in the 10th; Mouat spun in a stone that removed two opponents' stones with the second-to-last throw, but Canada answered to secure the final 9-6 score.

Key moments and turning points in the match

• Second end: GB claimed two to take the early lead.
• Sixth end: Mouat’s double takeout produced an unlikely two and put GB 5-4 up.
• Eighth end: GB missed shots and managed only a single, which proved pivotal.
• Ninth end: Canada converted a chance for three to seize an 8-6 advantage.
• Tenth end: Mouat’s late spinning stone removed two opposition stones but Canada’s response determined the 9-6 outcome.

Team context, pedigree and recent form

Mouat, Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie, with alternate Kyle Waddell, arrived in Cortina as world champions and favourites. Their recent honours include two World Championships and two European championships. Descriptions of their Grand Slam record vary in the immediate coverage: one account references a record 12 Grand Slam titles since the last Games, while another notes four Grand Slam event wins in the four years since the previous Olympics. They have dominated the sport in the period since they left Beijing bereft after a defeat by Sweden in that Olympic final four years ago.

The last 10 days in Italy were not straightforward. GB were on the brink of a shock early exit as recently as Thursday but recovered to guarantee a medal, and they had celebrated an epic semi-final win over Switzerland on Thursday — a match Mouat described as "our gold medal" in the heat of the moment.

Emotion, rivalry and what it means for the future

The defeat left players visibly distressed: at least two British players were seen in tears after the final. Grant Hardie said he was heartbroken and reflected on the pain of the loss four years earlier, which had prompted thoughts of retirement back then. Hammy McMillan said it took him four years to come to terms with the previous silver and expects this to take longer. Mouat described feeling in shock and said the team had felt like the better side.

Mouat has now played in four Olympic medal matches across mixed doubles and men's events at two Games and has not yet won Olympic gold in those medal matches. He declared an intention to continue to the next Olympics in France, stating "100%" that he will carry on; he also acknowledged that the other three have not yet had the group conversation about whether they will join him. Bobby Lammie was named as the third in that discussion.

Broader notes from Cortina — crowd, rivalry and controversy

The final took place in the Cortina Ice Arena in Italy, where the crowd was described as breathless at times; Scottish fans had travelled to support the team and even sang, while a relative of McMillan played "Loch Lomond" on the bagpipes from the stadium eyrie. This defeat was the second time the Canadians had beaten Team GB in five days. The Canadian side, led by 2014 gold-medallist Brad Jacobs, have themselves experienced a tumultuous time at these Games amid cheating claims, but they produced the decisive shots in the final ends to claim the gold.

For Great Britain the silver in the men’s event added to the overall medal tally in Cortina — it was the nation’s fourth medal of these Olympics, though the team will rue that this medal came as a result of falling just short of the gold they had chased so fiercely.

Recent updates indicate the margin between the teams was small and emotions remain raw; details about next steps for the athletes may evolve as they discuss the future.